Friction-clutch



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J.v F. MGLAUGHLIN.

PRICTION CLUTCH.

No. 468,682. Patentd Feb. 9, 1892.

NW1 M/ d QE@ 6 ,0 :az v ,Y f 23 2z mlmuu 9 Wmwssw: llzventbr;

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. F. MGLAUGHLIN. FRIGTION CLUTCH.

No. 488,882. Patented Feb. 9, 1892. /l

l/Yvy /0 a' #I4/ l 43 J 2; 3 42.

' UNITED .STATES PATENT OFFICE.

.I AMES F. llIOLAUGHLIN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

F'RICTIONfCLUTCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 468,682, dated February 9, 1892. Application filed August 2l, 1891. Serial No. 403,305. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-

Beit known that I, JAMES F. MCLAUGHLIN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have in-` vented certain new and useful Improvements in Friction-Clutches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in friction-clutches, its object being to provide a means for quickly and conveniently adjusting the clutch-shoes to compensate for wear.

In Letters Patent No. 451,653, `granted to me on May 5, 1891, I have shown aclutch ccnsisting, essentially, of radial clutch-shoes interposed between the driving member and the part to be driven, toggles connected to the clutch-shoes, and a screw mechanism, which in the patent is termeda screw-fed shifter,7 for operating the toggles and through them the clutch-shoes. In the construction shown in the said Letters Patent the toggles were each made in two parts united by a nut, so that each toggle could be lengthened, when necessary, to take up the wear of the clutchshoes. This construction required the separate adjustment of each toggle, which operation I have found to beinconvenient and uucertain on account of the number of toggles to be separately adjusted and the likelihood of unequal adjustment and consequent unequal wear of the clutch-shoes- In addition thereto the separate adjustment of each toggle requires that a wrench or other speciallyformed tool be applied tothe toggle-arms in narrow places difficult of access and ordinarily hidden from inspection. The operator therefore is obliged to grope, as it were, in the dark and to be guided more by his sense of touch than by sight, and he must have thorough knowledge of the construction of the clutch mechanism in order to succeed at all in adjusting with any degree of accuracy and uniformity. These objections are entirely overcome by the present invention, according to which the several toggles, together with the clutch-shoes, are adjusted to take up wear simultaneously and equally and with the greatest ease and comfort.

The improved adjustin g mechanism is fully illustrated in the annexed drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal section, partlyin elevat-ion and partly broken away, of a clutch embodying the present invention, the clutchshoes being shown in the expanded 0r engaged position. Fig. 2 is a similar section embracing only those parts shown in the lower half of Fig. l, the clutch-shoes being shown in the retracted or disengaged position; and Figs. 3, 4t, and 5 are sections of a portion of the clutch, showing modified forms of the invention.

The clutch illustrated in the drawings is, in the main, identical with that shown and described in the aforesaid Letters Patent. For this reason those portions of the clutch that are described in the said Letters Patent are not herein described in detail further than is necessary for a clear understanding 0f the relation of the wearco1npensating mechanism thereto and of the operation of the clutch as a whole.

In the drawings there is shown a shaft l, which may be either the drive ordriven shaft. On this shaft is keyed or otherwise secured a hub 2, provided at one end with an annular flange 3, to which latter are secured a number of equidistant radial clutch-shoes t, each formed with a shank 5. Passing through a slot 6 in the shank 5 of each clutch-shoe there is a bolt 7, screwed into the flange 3 and confining the shank 5 between the said flange and a washer 8, interposed between the said shank and the head of the bolt. p The bolt thus holds the clutch-shoe to the flange 3, but permits it to move freely in a radial direction, suitable guides 3 being formed on the ange 3 to prevent lateral movement. Each clutch-shoe is provided with a Wooden or other bearing-face 9, which may be replaced When Worn out. Loosely mounted on the hub 2 there is a gear or pulley IO, having a peripheral annular flange ll of sufficient width to inclose'the clutch-shoes, so that when the latter are moved into contact with the inner face of said flange the shaft l and gear 10 are coupled'together and one will drive the other. Gn the shaft l, at a distance from the hub 2, there is a sleeve l2, provided at one end with an annular flange 13 and secured to the shaft e lessee by a pin 14 or otherwise. On this sleeve there is another sleeve 15, having a greater portion of its outer surface screw-threaded, as shown, and near one end it is provided with an arm 16, projecting at right angles from it and designed to be engaged by some fixed structure to hold the sleeve 15 against rotation. One end of the sleeve 15 abut-s against the flange 13 on the sleeve 12 and the other end abuts against anut 17 ,which, together with alock-nut 18, is screwed on one end of the shaft 1. Surrounding the screw-threaded palrt of the sleeve 15 there is an internally-threaded sleeve 19, provided with a reduced portion 20, forming a neck fitting the shaft 1 intermediate be-` The sleeve- 19 is provided with ya shouldered flange 21, g to 'which is yapplied an aninulus 22 in suchf manner as to confine a ring 23 against ltheg This ring 23is extended vinto an, arm 24: and isiprevented from `moving inde-g pendent ofthe said flange 21 bya bolt 25, as shown in Fig. 1. It will be readily understood 1 that when the lever 24 is moved in one direc-,j tion it will unscrew the sleeve 19ffro1n theA 'sleeve 15, and thereby force ythe former toward thehub '2, and by vmeans of vsuitable con- L nections-such as toggle-levers betweenthe saidsleeve 19 and clutch-shoes 14C-will lforce? thejlatter finto engagement with the flan-ge =`ll f of fthegear 10, and thereby kclutch the same to the shaft, whilea vmovement 'of the lev'er: 24 Vin lthe opposite direction will retract thel clutch-shoes'and thereby unclutch the gearf tween the sleeve 12 and hub A2.

flange 21.

and shaft.

ing/'the 'gear 'and shaft ultimatelyso wears away` the bearing-faces of the 'clutchsho'es that-thelatter will ynot 'be 'brought into-firm contact lwith 4the 'bearing-'face' of flange 11 of the gear Y-10 and the clutchingaction will there- 'fore beun'oertain.

"Inthecons't'ruction shown and'describedin thefafor'esaidlietters Patent, when theclutchshoesbecome worn, itis necessary'to'lengtlien tliertoggles'employed in such clutch to compensateiforthewear of the shoes, andin order'lto dothis each toggle is 'adjusted separatelyfor this purpose.

V=1t will be readilyunderstood that in vadjusting eachtoggle separatelythere is liability of adjusting them to different "lengths,'sothat when'expanded'the clutch-shoes will not all engage-'the flange 11 of ythe gear 10 equally, and consequently vthey will wearunequally, thus ilnpa'iring the utility of the clutch.

yOne formfof the improved mechanism `for vtaking up thewear of the clutchLshoes uniformlyis shown `in Figs. 1 and l2,"to which reference is now; made.

Onthe 'neck 20 of 'the sleeve 1,9 there is a collar26,free`to rotate-but held against longitudinalmovement by a washer or annulus 27,:securedtothefree end of the neck. 'This collarisfp'rovi'ded "withfa number of pairs of ears 28, 'radiating 4from it, all similar to the construction shown in the aforesaid VLetters .for this purpose.

Patent. Pivoted between each pair of ears 28, about midway of its length, is ashort rocklever 29, one end of which is bifurcated to receive one end of a toggle 30, pivoted to said rock-lever by a pin 31. The other end of the toggle 30 has aball-and-socket connection 32 with the corresponding clutch-'shoe Lt, like that shown in the aforesaid Letters Patent; or it may have a simple pivotal. connection therewith, as indicated in dotted lines, in which latter instance it will be understood that the end of the toggle is suitably formed The rock-lever 29 has its other end formed into two fingers 33 34, for a purpose which will hereinafter appear. The collar 26 has a portion of its exterior surface screw-threaded, as shown at 35, to receive a nut 3G, which latter is provided with a'nu'mberof radial 'soekets37 (one "only 'being visible in thedrawings) forthe receptonof 'aipin 38 (shown indotted lines,Fig. 1) oroth'ertool, by means of which the lnut may be screwed along the collar 26, as desired. l

Projecting atan angle'fromfoneside ofthe "nu'tv36 vthere 'is an annular rib 39, constructed to fit between the-inge'rs33 34-oftherock-le j 'rock-levers 2'9'are shaped to conform-'approximately to lthe shape 'of the said rib. it lwillfbe observed that the fingers 33 '34 project from the rock-levers 29 at an angle, so-that the said Ylevers are in effect bellcrank llevers,"and A y l when the `nut'36'i`s screwed'on the vrsleeve-26 The operation of clutching 'and V-unclutchl in a direction Ato cause lthe rib Y39 'tolbea'r again'stthe fingers 34E-the rock-'levers will be turned'on their pivots and "force the toggles flange 11 of thefgearlOlthat'the clutching-ac'- tion is uncertain, it lisonlynecessary, 'inorf der :to takelup the wear andfresto're 'thel'eflicacy of the clutch, to insert thefpin 38 in one of Vthe'sockets 37 in the nutf36,and by turning the latter adjust the clutchshoes :simultaneously 'andl equally. This operation-of-adjusting the clutch-shoes for wear is performed with great'ease and certainty and in'a'very few moments and withoutreinovi'ngthe clutch or'any portion ofthe same. The adjustment may be repeated 'many'times before the limit of travel of'the nut 36 is reached, by which time the-facings'9 of the clutch4shoe`s are worn out and-it becomes necessary to"repla'ce'them byvn'ewo'nes.

vFrcnnthe'foregoing description it willbe understood that the'mechanism forshifting the clutch-shoes consists of the lever 24,;the screwthreaded sleeve 19, rthe loose sleeve2G, the nut 3G, with its-flange 89,'the`rock-'levers 29, and the toggles 30, and 4that motion is transmitted from one to the other of these parts and finally to the clutch-shoes, both when the latter are applied and when they are withdrawn. The flanged nut 36 therefore This annular rib 39 is rounded on ICO IIO

is a part of the shitting mechanism, and, as

' has been explained, it is at the same time a part of the Wear compensating mechanism, having a rectilinear reciprocating movementwhen operating as a part of the former and an independent screw movement when operating as a part of the latter.

Referring now to Fig. 3, there is shown a modified form of the toggle connections and wear-compensating mechanism. In this construction there is connected with the fiange 3 an annulus 3, parallel to the plane of the tiange 3 and held in this position by rods or stays 3. The nut. 36 is mounted directly on the neck 20, which is externally screwthreaded for this purpose, as shown at 40. A collar 26 is placed on the nut 36, so as to rotate freely thereon, but is held against longitudinal movement by an annular flange 36 at one end of the nut and by a Washer orannulus 27 secured on the other end of the same. The collar 26 in the construction shown in Fig. 3 is shorter than the similar collar 26 (shown in Figs. l and 2) and the screw-threads are omitted. IThe toggle consists of two links 41 42, pivoted together at one end, the link 4I being pivoted at the other end to or connected by a ball-and-socket joint 32 with the clutch-shoe 4 and the link 42 being` pivoted to the collar 26 between the ears 28 thereon. Pivotally connected at one end to the toggle at the junction of the two links 41 42 is another link 43, pivoted at its other end to an arm 44, projecting from the annulus 3, Which, as has been described, is rigidly connected with the flange 3 by the rods 3. It will be readily understood that as the sleeve 19 is moved toward the hub 2 it tends to straighten all the toggles simultaneously, and thereby forces the clutch-shoes into engagement with the flange Il on the gear IO, and a reverse movement of the sleeve 19 will retract the clutch-shoes by shortening the toggles. The adjustment for wear is effected by screwing the nut 3G toward the free yend of the neck 20, thus tending to straighten all the toggles at once, so that the clntch-shoes are all brought simultaneously closer to the flange 1l of the gear lO.

Referring now to Fig. 4, there is shown still another form of wear-compensating mechanism embodying the invention. In this form the toggles 30 are similar to the toggles 30 shown in Figs. l and 2. There is alsoa loose collar 26 on the neck 20 of the sleeve 19, the same being longer than the collar 26 before described and Without screw-threads on its exterior. Rock -levers 29 are pivoted between ears 28 on the collar 26 and are each connected at one end to one of the toggles 30 as shown. Each rock-lever has its other end 45 tapered as shown, and this tapered end engages the beveled face 46 of an annular recess 47, formed in one side of a nut 36, fitted to rotate and slide freely on the collar 2G". The beveled face 46 of the nut 36 is screw threaded, as shown, and engages screw-threads cut on the tapered end of the rock-levers. It will be readily understood that when the nut 3G is rotated in the proper direction it will be screwed onto the tapered ends of all of the rock-levers at the same time and will force them inward toward the collar 26, thus moving their other ends, together with the toggles and clutch-shoes, radially outward, the same as in the other forms of wear-compensating devices shown in Figs. l to 3.

In the construction shown in Fig. 5 each rock-lever has its tapered end formed smooth without screw-threads, and the beveled face ot' the recess 47 in the nut 36 is also smooth and im pinges on the face of the tapered end of the rock-lever. The said nutis provided on its inner surface with threads which engage screW-threads on one" end of the collar 2G, as shown at 4S. The operation of adjusting for Wear in this latter construction is the same as that of the form shown in Fig. 4. i

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. In a frictionfclutch, the combination, with a driving and a driven member, of clutchshoes on one member and in operative relation to the other member, actuating mechanism for the clutch-shoes, and a Wear-compensator common to all the clutch-shoes, moving with and constituting a part of the shifting mechanism and constructed to adjust the said clutch-shoes simultaneously, Asubstantially as described.

2. In a friction-clutch, the combination, with a driving and a' driven member, of clutchshoes on one member and in operative relation to the other member, actuating mechanism for the clutch-shoes, toggles connected to the clutch-shoes, and a wear-compensator moving with and constituting a part of the shifting mechanism and connected to all the toggles to adjust the latter simultaneously, substantially as described.

3. In a friction-clutch, the combination, with a driving and a driven member, of clutchshoes on one member and in operative relation to the other member, and actuating mechanism for the clutch-shoes, comprising a nut constructed to react upon all of the clutchshoes simultaneously to adjust the same for wear, substantially as described.

4. In a friction-01u tch, the combination,witl1 a driving and a driven member, of clutchshoes for connecting and disconnecting the same, actuating mechanism comprising a toggle for each clutch-shoe, a rock-lever for each toggle, and a nut common to all the rock-levers constructed to act on the same both for shifting and for compensating for Wear, substantially as described.

5. In a friction-clutch, the coinbinatiomwith a driving and a driven member, of clutchshoes for connecting and disconnecting tho same, and a wear-compensator for the clutchshoes comprising two-armed rock-levers, one for each clutch-shoe and connected to the IOO IIO

same at one end, and a nut provided with an annular rib engaging the other end of each rock-lever for moving all the rock-levers simultaneously to adjust the clutch-shoes for wear, substantially as described.

6. In a friction-clutch, the combinationmith a driving and a driven member, of clutchshoes for connecting and disconnecting the same, toggles, one for each clutch-shoe, rocklevers, 011e for each toggle, pivoted to the latter at one end and at the other formed into two fingers, and a nut provided with a rib entering between the said fingers on all the rocklevers and constructed to move all the said levers at the same time and thereby adjust the clutch-shoes for Wear simultaneously, substantially as described.

7. In a friction-clutch, the combinatioinvvith a driving and a driven member, of clutchshoes for connecting and disconnecting the same, toggles, one for each clutch-shoe, actuating mechanism for the toggles, rock-levers forming part of the actuating mechanism and connected to the togg'lcs, a rotatable collar carrying all the rock-levers and moving with the actuating mechanism, and a nut on the collar engaging all the rock-levers and moving the same simultaneously to adj ust the clutchshoes for Wear, substantially as described.

S'. In a friction-clutch, the combination,with

a driving and a driven member, of clutchshoes for connecting and disconnecting the same, and a combined actuating and Wearcompensating mechanism for the clutch-shoes, 'comprising toggles, one for each clutch-shoe, rock-levers, one for each toggle, a rotatable collar carrying the rock-levers and provided with exterior screw-threads, and a nut on the screw-threaded portion of the collar engaging all the levers and constructed to move the same for adjusting the clutch-shoes simultaneously, substantially as described.

9. In afriction-clutch, the combination,with a driving and a driven member, of clutchshoes for connecting and disconnecting the same, and a Wear-compensator for the clutchshoes, comprising a rock-lever, one for each clutch-shoe and connected to the same at one end, and a nut engaging the other end of each rock-lever for moving'all the rock-levers simultaneously to adj ust the clutclrshoes for Wear, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of tWo subscribing Witnesses.

JAMES F. MCLAUGHLIN.

Witnesses:

W5C. MGCURDY, EDWARD ELDRED. 

